


Darkness and Light (Monkie Kid AU)

by Fiona_of_Random_Fandoms



Series: Heroes Have Battle Scars AU [1]
Category: LEGO Monkie Kid, Xi You Ji | Journey to the West - Wu Cheng'en
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dark MK, Devloping Friendships, Everyone is worried about MK and Red Son, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Flashbacks, Gen, I have Journey to the West now, Journey across China, Kidnapping, MK is going down a dark path, Monkey King is determined to save his unofficially officially adopted son, Race Against Time, Red Son gets kidnapped, Spoilers for JTTW, Team as Family, Trauma, Wukong gets to know the descendants of his long dead friends, injuries, so there's probably gonna be spoilers if you haven't read the book
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:07:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27170168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiona_of_Random_Fandoms/pseuds/Fiona_of_Random_Fandoms
Summary: (AU where Wukong gets critically injured by Macaque. Episode 9 takes place before episode 8.)Darkness and light. Two separate things that co-exist. There is a fine line between them, but what happens when that line becomes a blur?
Relationships: Demon Bull King /Princess Iron Fan, No Romantic Relationship(s), Pigsy & Sandy (LEGO Monkie Kid), Pigsy & Sūn Wùkõng -| Monkey King (LEGO Monkie Kid), Qi Xiaotian I MK & Red Son, Qi Xiaotian | MK & Long Xiaojiao | Mei, Sandy and Sūn Wùkõng | Monkey King (LEGO Monkie Kid)
Series: Heroes Have Battle Scars AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1983215
Comments: 45
Kudos: 53





	1. Prolouge

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! I'm Fiona_of_Random_Fandoms, and I am new to A03!
> 
> This story is an AU where Macaque actually critically injured Wukong, and MK, feeling guilt and rage, goes on a journey across China to get revenge, kidnapping Red Son in the process to get him to help. Since the show has yet to explore the concept of one of the characters getting revenge, I decided to make this story! I hope you'll enjoy it!
> 
> By the way, A03 says that if I don't confirm my email in 14 days, my account will expire, so if anyone can help, it'd be greatly appreciated!

When you spend over a decade fighting fifty-seven demons, protecting your master and your fellow disciples, keeping them alive long enough to secure ancient scriptures and bring enlightenment to all of China, you develop what others would call a sixth sense; you get that feeling in your gut, that small voice in the back of your mind, telling you that something was horribly wrong.

Sun Wukong was having that feeling now, standing in front of the now destroyed mural of his friends, and he couldn't shake it.

Even though he hadn't known MK for that long, Wukong knew that the kid wouldn't act so cold towards him, let alone actually _snap_ at him. He knew, when he had been watching the boy in his apartment and saw the merchandise and the books, the DVDs of Monkey King: The Animated Series, when he saw just how much he idolized him, that he meant a lot to MK.

 _You just don't like that there's someone who's_ actually _teaching me what I need to know!_

Sure, the words stung a _little_ , but Wukong knew that MK wouldn't say something like that. Not unless something, or someone, was influencing him to think and act in such a way.

Which is why he sent one of his duplicates to keep an eye on his student. As much as he didn't want to violate MK's rights to privacy, Sun felt...scared. He had been searching for his successor for five hundred years, and the thought of losing MK to another teacher disheartened him, but what he was _more_ worried about was the possibility that this other teacher could lead the teenager down a dark path, or worse, could possibly even put MK in danger.

He decided to check in with his duplicate then, closing his eyes, and when he opened them, his vision was illuminated by gold, through his duplicate's eyes, and he could tell that his duplicate had shapeshifted into a bird, for it was in the sky, looming over a few mountains, the wings could be spotted in the corner of his eye.

Wukong looked around, and he was a little taken aback by the mountain's lack in dirt, grass, and even leaves. It was just nothing but bare rock under a surely colorless sky. Then, he turned his head, and Wukong jumped back a bit, eyes widening. _"Whoa..."_

It was some kind of monster, standing on one of the bare mountains, as tall as a giant, with thin, but still incredibly large arms, appearing to have only one eye and no mouth, with a tail and what looked to be bandages sticking out of its body. No...those things could be _whips_ , Sun realized. He couldn't make out its colors; his entire vision was covered in an golden glow.

His stomach turned. Something wasn't right. Where had he seen this creature before?

The Monkey King looked around for his student, and he spotted him, struggling to climb up makeshift stairs up the mountain, with someone leading the way. Someone who looked...familiar.

Sun squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at this person.

Then, he spotted fur.

Black fur.

He gasped, and his vision returned to normal. "MK!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

He scrambled up the makeshift stairs, grunting, struggling to keep up with his new mentor. MK wished that these stairs didn't reach up to who knows how many miles, or better yet, that Macaque just _teleported_ them to the monster's location. But Macaque said that it would give them away, and would provoke the monster to attack them. "We have to catch it off guard," he'd said. "Or else all of your training will go to waste."

When Macaque made it to the top, he snuck behind the giant rock just in front of the monster and turned, looking on as the Monkie Kid clambered up the stairs. "The smoke monster is actually an ancient demon." MK finally made it to the top and yelped, stumbling before he knelt behind his mentor. "And a very, _very_ powerful one," Macaque added, standing up. "We need to destroy it once and for all. Come on!" He put his hand on MK's back, then shoved him forward.

MK nearly fell to the ground before he regained his footing and looked at Macaque, confused. "Wait, what? Last time I couldn't even hit it!"

"Totally," Macaque snorted, before smiling encouragingly at him. "But since then, you've had _me_ teaching you. You're stronger now!" He stepped towards him, holding out his hands as if to emphasize his point. "Don't you _feel_ stronger?"

MK hesitated. He did feel something...but he wasn't entirely sure if he felt _stronger_. "I guess," he mumbled, jumping a bit when Macaque grabbed his shoulder.

"Remember, _you're_ the weapon," Macaque told him, before turning him around and shoving him forward again. "Give it _everything_ you've got!"

MK took a deep breath, closing his eyes, before opening them again, feeling determination surging through him. "Here comes," he said lowly, spinning his staff before gripping it with his other hand. "Monkie Kid."

He walked forward, spinning his staff around, then slammed it onto the ground, before jumping into the air, leaving behind a small crater in his wake, a cloud of dust floating in the air. The dust did not bother Macaque, who only smirked as he watched his student with a sly gleam in his eyes. Everything was going as planned.

The smoke monster looked up when it saw MK in the air, letting out a battle cry as he fell, purple energy sparking to life, floating and swirling around him, as he prepared to deliver the first, and final blow, trying to muster as much energy he could into his attack.

 _"I AM THE WEAPON!"_ MK screamed, growling as he put all of his energy into the attack, enlarging his staff.

But then, the monster, to MK's shock, began to change form, shrinking and transforming, until it was before him.

MK's golden brown eyes widened in shock.

It wasn't a monster.

_It was Macaque._

His mentor grinned at him, one of his eyes glowing purple, before he bent his arm backwards, then rammed his fist into MK's stomach. MK made a noise of pain, but it felt like Macaque's fist was grabbing at something, grabbing at something _inside_ of him, before he pulled his fist away, allowing MK and his staff to fall to the ground next to the "Macaque" that had been training him for the past week, who grinned as the other Macaque floated down, with what looked like a golden ball of fire in his hand.

"Macaque" knelt down and smiled at MK. "You know, you really are a good kid," he said, and MK's eyes widened once more when Macaque- no, the _duplicate_ , MK realized- began to merge into the shadows, back towards its master. Before the shadow returned to the real Macaque, it added, "But _super_ nice."

Then the shadow continued its journey, and once it returned to Macaque, the ground shook for a moment before transforming into the smoke monster, as if protecting its master. Then, Macaque closed his fist around the golden ball. Immediately, purple energy zapped, dancing around the Six Eared Macaque's hand, then flowed across Macaque's entire body, causing him to close his eyes and grit his teeth as MK's powers began to merge with him, the ground splitting as the force shook the entire mountain, then, like a shockwave, or an earthquake, he spun around, using the newfound energy to make the monster disappear, creating some type of cocoon as he merged with it, the force of the power sending MK and his staff flying. MK gasped when the staff suddenly flew over and pinned itself against him- trapping him against the mountain.

When the process was complete, Macaque stood, smiling. "Thank you, for giving me all of Monkey King's power."

MK struggled, trying to get the staff off of him, but was horrified when he realized that he couldn't. The staff felt like it was the weight of normal iron. Oh, gods- Macaque _really_ did take his powers!

"Huh?" Macaque asked, then covered his mouth, trying not to burst out laughing. "Oh, _no!_ Can't you hold the magic staff anymore?" he sneered, grinning maliciously into MK's face. When the boy didn't answer, he backed off. "Well, you know what that means. There _really_ isn't anything special about you."

His words were like a knife cutting MK's heart into pieces. Then, he gasped and whimpered when Macaque suddenly lunged forward and grabbed the staff, pressing it against MK's chest, giving him trouble to breathe a bit.

"You're just some kid with a heavy stick!" Macaque laughed with a sadistic grin on his face.

MK stared at him with wide eyes, terrified, before he shook his head, snapping himself out of it. "M-Monkey King will come for me! He'll know that I'm missing," he growled, glaring into Macaque's dark yellow eyes. "A- and when he comes, he's going to kick your-"

Macaque threw his head back in maniacal laughter, his entire body shaking as he laughed, leaning forward and clutching his stomach, whooping and cackling, as if MK had just told him the funniest joke in the world. The laughter sent chills down MK's spine, rendering him speechless. This monkey wasn't just a villain. He was _insane_.

Macaque eventually calmed down, his chest still rumbling in chuckles, before he suddenly lashed out, and scratched MK across the face, making the teen cry out in pain.

"You forget one little, eensy-teensy tiny thing, MK," Macaque said, smirking. "I _turned_ you against Sun Wukong, now, didn't I?"

MK's mind flashed back to what he had said to the Monkey King earlier today, and his heart dropped.

_"You just don't like that there's someone who's actually teaching me what I need to know!" he snapped at Wukong, glaring at him before he walked away._

"You...you _planned_ for me to ditch him."

"Ah, hey, I knew you had a functioning brain in there somewhere!" Macaque grinned, playfully ruffling the boy's hair. "I sure did, bud. And you fell into my trap so quickly, it's honestly sad. Now that I have no further use for you..." Another grin stretched across his face, one that terrified MK. "Wukong will be crushed when he finds the successor that he had been looking for for _centuries_ , is gone for good."

Then, the purple energy returned, swirling around Macaque, changing, mutating his body, until he was the smoke monster once again. "Sorry, kid!" Macaque shouted, raising his disfigured fist. "Nothing personal!"

Everything happened so quickly. MK screamed as the giant fist raced toward him, moving closer and closer-

_(Patience.)_

Then, someone grabbed MK, lifting the staff and tossing it to the side, but the fist was growing ever nearer-

MK was tossed like a rag doll, falling to the ground, hitting bare rock, next to the staff. He didn't even see his savior's face.

Then, he heard a crash, and the tell-tale sound of bones simultaneously breaking, like a chorus of glass shattering, only, it was _so_ much worse. He flung his body upwards, sitting up just as Macaque pulled his giant fist back like it'd been burned, as if shocked by what just happened.

MK squinted his eyes, and his stomach flipped when he saw the blood. Then, his eyes trailed, following the blood to its owner.

_(Focus.)_

The world stopped rotating. MK's blood ran cold, his breath caught in his lungs. Brown fur, matted in crimson. Gold armor shattered into pieces. Limbs twisted in different directions, in unnatural angles, face soaked in blood, robes torn to shreds. A broken tail.

_(Step into the strike.)_

_"Monkey King!"_


	2. Shock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! Apologies for taking so long to get this new chapter out. My Halloween special on Wattpad took longer than I expected to finish, and I needed a few days to rest before I started working on chapter 2 (or, technically, chapter 1) of Darkness and Light, because working on a tablet is hard, but it's kinda all I can work with right now, lol.
> 
> Also, I know that this chapter is short, I'm really sorry about that. My birthday is coming up on November 8th, this Sunday, and it's likely that I'll be spending time with my family at my great-grandmother's house, so I'm probably going to be tired when I get back home, if I DO end up going there, anyway.
> 
> I'll try to get to work on chapter 3 either tomorrow or the day after in Google Docs, but if I don't end up publishing it before my birthday, I'll keep working on it after my birthday. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Someone was screaming. A scream full of horror and desperation and fear, like a scream from one of the main characters from the horror movies he'd watched with Mei. He felt like he was somewhere else. Somewhere far away, hearing things in a distance. But, somewhere in the back of his mind, it clicked that _he_ was the one screaming.

That's what brought MK back to reality, like he'd abruptly woken from sleep. He scrambled to his feet, chest heaving with heavy breaths, stumbling and tripping over his own two feet, whimpering and panting, adrenaline flooding his veins. He ran over to his mentor, collapsing to his knees, hovering his hands over the Monkey King's body as if he could magically heal him.

He didn't focus on the Monkey King's bloodied face, nor did he focus on his twisted limbs. It felt like his mind was just focused on the fact that _Sun Wukong_ was hurt. "M-M-Monkey King?" MK called; he didn't receive an answer. "W-Wu-Wukong?"

Silence.

A sob wracked his body, tears leaking out of the corner of his eyes and pouring down his cheeks, his throat tightening. "S...S-S-Sun?"

Then, laughter filled the air, causing MK to jump. He looked up, and his eyes flashed with anger at the monster that had done this to his true mentor.

The smoke monster dissipated, leaving only Macaque hovering in the air, grinning at the sight before him.

"I don't _believe_ it!" Macaque cackled, doubling over and clutching his stomach, his cheeks puffed up as laughter spilled from his lips, as if he was watching the most funniest thing ever unfold right in front of him. "Holy crap, Sun is more pathetic than I thought! He actually took the hit for you!" He cackled even louder, but this time his laughter was victorious. "I actually killed Sun _friggin'_ Wukong!"

Then, his laughter ceased, and his dark yellow eyes landed on MK, his lips twisting into an evil smirk, eyes gleaming with mockery. "And it's all thanks to _you_ , my student," he chuckled.

MK glared at him, his golden brown eyes shining with fury. "Y...you _bastard!_ " He rose back to his feet, stomach shimmering with rage and his face burning like fire. He looked around, his eyes falling on the staff, still at the precise spot where the Monkey King had thrown it in order to free him.

He ran towards it, grabbing it and trying to pick it up, but he yelped, falling to the ground when he tried to lift the iron weapon. He growled, grabbing at the staff again, straining, but it wouldn't _budge_. He heard Macaque laughing at him again, but when he snapped his head around to look, he was clawed in the face again.

He cried out, falling to the ground, holding his face in pain. When he took his hand away, his fingers were coated in crimson.

"My gods, you're too easy," Macaque chuckled, shaking his head. Then, he glanced at the staff. His lips twitched into another smirk, and he reached down, his hand outstretched.

 _"No!"_ MK screamed, lunging at him, but Macaque grabbed him by the hair, causing him to gasp, then shoved him away, sending him back to the ground. The Six Eared Macaque laughed once more.

"Gods, you're just as pathetic as Wukong," he chuckled, wrapping his hand around the red and gold staff. Then, as if it was as light as a feather, he lifted the staff, to MK's horror.

Macaque grinned, running his hand over the cold iron, his lips twitching, before he let out a low whistle. "Damn. The Golden Staff, forged by _Yu the Great_ himself. And, thanks to you, _I_ can lift it."

MK trembled in fear, looking at the dark monkey with wide, watery eyes. His mind raced, macabre images of Macaque bashing his skull in with the very weapon he used to wield just a few days ago flashing in his mind, causing him to shut his eyes tightly, his entire form shaking. He knew that Macaque wouldn't leave him alive. He prayed that it'd be quick.

Then, he heard a _clang_ , and when he opened his eyes, he saw the staff had been dropped to the ground. He looked up at Macaque, bewildered.

Macaque smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "What? You think I'm going to _steal_ Monkey King's staff? Sure, it'd make a _great_ trophy, but I already got what I wanted. With _your_ powers combined with the power stemming from _my_ Dark Chi, I can easily add more power to my own staff. Besides," he smirked again, and then gestured at the unresponsive Monkey King, causing MK to tense again. "Even though you _were_ his successor, you're not even a threat to me anymore. And, as much it'd be fun to kill you, I'd just be wasting my time and energy. Plus, I think it'd be _much_ more entertaining if I just left you alive, knowing that _you_ are the reason why your precious mentor is dead."

MK was stunned, looking at Macaque as if he was some kind of foreign creature he had never seen before. "You're a monster…" he whispered, blinking back tears, his chest swelling with nothing but pure hatred.

Macaque laughed, turning his back on the teenager. "You should try it sometime, kid. Being a monster is just too much fun."

Then, he slowly merged into the shadows, and MK could only watch, his heart heavy in his chest, taking heavy breaths, as the shadow of the Six Eared Macaque fled the scene, crawling across the bare stone, until he was out of sight completely.

The teenage boy waited for several moments, until he managed to summon the strength to run back over to the Monkey King, his stomach twisting with nausea upon seeing the gruesome sight of his mentor's condition. His breathing quickened, on the verge of shifting to ragged gasps. He slowly raised his shaking hand to the Monkey King's chest, shuddering at the warm blood soaking into the palm of his hand. He swallowed the urge to vomit, and closed his eyes, preparing for the worst.

Then he felt it.

A faint heartbeat.

An unsteady laugh passed MK's lips as relief shot through him like lightning, and he nearly collapsed to the ground in relief. But, he knew that he couldn't celebrate just yet.

For the first time ever, Sun Wukong needed a doctor.

MK's eyes widened and he shoved his hand into his pocket, searching for his phone, but when he took his hand out, only broken pieces of his phone case, a cracked circuit board and shards of a screen poured out. He cried out in terror and frustration, and he tossed the remains of his phone to the ground. He had to think of something, _fast!_

He looked down at his mentor, heart racing in his chest. He knew that he shouldn't move the Monkey King in this state, but he didn't have a choice.

He kneeled down, and put his arms under the Monkey King's back and legs. He grunted, straining and groaning, ignoring the blood that poured down on his clothes. He had to carry him. He _had_ to!

It took him for who knows how many minutes, but he eventually had Wukong in his arms bridal style, but his arms shook at the weight. The Monkey King was about his height, and probably weighed the same weight as he did. He needed help.

MK set the Monkey King down on the ground as gently as he could without hurting him even more, and then, without thinking, grabbed at his hair, pulling out three strands.

"Please, Buddha, let this work," he prayed, before gently blowing on the three strands of hair, watching them float around in the air before they landed on the ground, only a few feet away from him and the injured spiritual primate.

MK kept praying and praying, then, just as he was starting to lose hope, golden light blinded him, and then, three versions of himself appeared out of thin air, looking as sorrowful and desperate as he was.

He blinked for a few moments, then another unsteady laugh filled the air, thick with unshed tears. " _Oh, thank the gods!_ Quick, guys, help me carry him!"

Two of his clones obliged without question, quickly surrounding the injured Monkey King, helping the real MK lift him in the air. MK spotted the third clone going after the staff, then picking it up. He was surprised for a moment, but he quickly concluded that his powers weren't completely gone, and he was just slowly recharging. At least, that's what he hoped.

MK and his clones slowly made their way down the makeshift stairs going down the mountain, being cautious with every step, fearing that going too fast would only make things worse.

MK's legs burned with exhaustion, but he forced himself to keep moving. He couldn't rest right now. The Monkey King was hurt! He needed medical attention! He kept pressing forward.

He didn't know how long it took, how many minutes, perhaps even hours, have passed. His brain seemed to have lost its sense of time. _Just keep walking. Just keep walking._

* * *

Walking on trembling legs, taking ragged breaths. MK distinctly heard the familiar sounds of traffic, car horns and tires screeching across cement. How had he reached the city already? He didn't remember any of his clones taking him and the Monkey King and jumping a far distance.

But it didn't matter. Nothing else mattered. Not how exhausted he felt, not his desire to go home and collapse on his bed and wake up from this nightmare. He had to get the Monkey King help. He _had_ to.

Then, he spotted the giant white building with the big, fat, red plus sign. He heard someone (himself? Someone else, maybe?) yelling out in excitement, then running. His clones ran with the Monkey King in their arms, and then he found himself at the doors, throwing them open like he'd seen the people in the movies do, startling the receptionist at the front desk.

He stared at her, the clones behind him, Monkey King still in their arms, breathing heavily.

"D-Doctor," he gasped, throat dry. "I- I need a doctor. M-my...my friend, he's hurt!"

The receptionist looked at him with wide eyes, then her eyes fell on his clones, a baffled expression crossing her face when she saw the injured anthropomorphic monkey in their hands.

"I...is...i-is that…?" she said, the rest of her sentence perishing in her throat. MK knew what she was trying to ask.

"Yes, yes, he's the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the Victorious Fighting Buddha, _whatever_ you want to call him! He needs help!" he shouted.

The receptionist nodded, then buzzed in several other doctors, who were genuinely shocked by what they had seen, but knowing the severity of the Monkey King's wounds, they took the monkey out of MK's clones' arms, putting him on a stretcher, and then placed an oxygen mask on his face.

MK's clones exploded into piles of hair, causing anyone near him to jump, but he didn't notice. He watched the Monkey King, focusing on his face, until the doctors turned the stretcher around the corner and he disappeared from his sight.

"Sir?" a voice was calling, and MK suddenly returned to reality, blinking up at the nurse staring at him with concerned eyes, who was looking at his bloodstained clothes. "Sir, are you alright? What happened?"

A lump formed in MK's throat, his chest tightening. Everything that just happened suddenly hit him like a punch to the gut, his brain finally processing what had gone down in the past couple of hours. His legs finally gave out from under him, and he collapsed on his knees, holding his face as his shoulders shook with sobs, then he leaned down, curling into a tight ball. He couldn't stop shaking, couldn't hear the nurse worriedly asking him if he was okay. He couldn't hear anything other than his grief-stricken cries.

_"It's all my fault!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, as you can tell, MK was kinda in shock in this chapter. In the next chapter, I'm going to try and have the rest of MK's team show up! But, since editing a chapter on A03 is hard, and I'm writing the story on my tablet, chapters MIGHT be short quite a lot and new chapters coming out might take some time because of that. I hope you guys still enjoyed the chapter though!
> 
> And, thank you guys SO much for 16 kudos and 169 hits! It means a lot! Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below, and I'll see y'all next time!


	3. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it took me longer than I'd hoped, but I FINALLY have chapter 3 of Darkness and Light here! I hope you guys will enjoy!
> 
> And, happy New Year! Let's hope that 2021 will be a better year this time around!
> 
> Edit: Sorry if anyone got any emails about the chapter being published twice, I messed up, lol.

Something wasn't right. 

She felt it ever since she had woken up this morning. Or rather, she had felt it ever since the incident with the smoke monster from a few days ago. Mei knew that something was up the moment she and MK had spotted what looked like to be the Monkey King hopping onto the building and supposedly chasing the monster off. 

But, it didn't make sense to her. The Monkey King had been hanging out at Flowerfruit Mountain for _five hundred_ years after he sealed DBK under a mountain, and as far as she knew, from the ramblings MK had spewed out of his mouth that were the stories of the Monkey King, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven didn't have powers that were associated with the color _purple._

Plus, he was _retired_ from his days as a demon fighter, and he normally didn't get involved with their battles except for the one time he gave MK advice about practicing with his powers when Red Son took over the weather station a few weeks ago. So, why _would_ he decide to just randomly get involved one day all of a sudden? She knew that the Monkey King used to be impulsive, courtesy of MK, but from what her friend had also told her about their training sessions, he seemed to have calmed down quite a bit. It just didn't add up.

So when MK didn't return from meeting up with the 'Monkey King' to tell him how awesome him confronting the monster was, Mei and the others were incredibly worried. She had tried calling him, but he didn't answer, which alone set off the alarms in her head, because, even when he was busy delivering noodles, or working his waiter shift at Pigsy's restaurant, he would always, _always_ answer his phone. That's just how MK was. 

She spent a good portion of that night driving her bike throughout the town, looking for any sign of her best friend, until she was too exhausted to keep looking further, so she'd drove to her parents' house and collapsed on her bed, promising herself she'd keep looking for him in the morning.

But, the next day, to Mei's relief, MK was back, having called her from his phone at his apartment. Mei wanted to scold him for not answering his phone and ask him where he'd been, but he was already excitedly babbling about this new guy he had met who had been the one who confronted the monster, and how he was another spiritual primate like the Monkey King, which kinda explained how the guy looked so similar to said mystical monkey, Mei supposed. Maybe the two could be related?

But, before she could ask him what the Monkey King's look-alike's name was, MK was already saying that he was going to go and train with him, starting tomorrow.

" _What?!_ " Mei exclaimed, shocked by what she'd just heard. "MK, you don't know _anything_ about this guy! He just...appeared out of _nowhere!_ And you're...you're just going to go ahead and _train_ with the dude?"

 _"Well, I mean...that's the plan,"_ MK replied, sounding startled by her outburst.

Mei shook her head. While she'd do anything for her best friend, he could be so naive sometimes, and that, more often than not, led him to getting in trouble. "MK, I don't think that's a good idea. This whole thing sounds _really_ sketchy. Besides, what about the Monkey King? You're _his_ student, not this...this Monkey King knockoff dude's."

A sigh. _"Monkey King isn't even_ teaching _me anything important, Mei. He just wants me to knock down a wall and make him a breakfast nook. Look, don't get me wrong, he's still my hero, and he always will be, but we don't know when another bad guy's gonna attack the city. If DBK and his family is going to strike again, or someone else we've already beaten is going to come back, or someone new altogether will strike. I need a_ faster _way to learn how to fight, and, as much as I adore him, the Monkey King's teachings aren't getting me anywhere."_

Mei bit her bottom lip, holding back a sigh of her own. That _did_ seem to be reasonable enough...but still, something about this didn't sit right with her. What this guy was offering felt too good to be true.

"I don't know, MK. I have a bad feeling about this."

 _"Don't worry, Mei. I'll be fine! This guy's cool! And if he tries anything with the champ? I'll just use my powers!"_ he said cheerfully, trying to reassure her. When Mei didn't answer, MK sighed again. _"Mei, do you trust me?"_

After a moment, she sighed as well, nodding even though she knew that MK couldn't see her. "Yeah...yeah, I trust you."

_"Then trust me on this. I'll be careful, I promise. I'll call you in the next few days, okay?"_

"Okay. See you later, buddy."

_"See you soon, Mei."_

It had been about a week since that particular phone call, and Mei was worried to death. MK had already called Pigsy not long after he'd called her, telling him that he was going to need a few days off to train. Pigsy knew that MK would most likely need a break from his job from time to time since he was pretty much a superhero now, so when the teenager called him and told him this, the humanoid pig had been very understanding and let him have a few days off, but not without warning MK that he'd have quite a lot of work to catch up on when he'd get back.

So now not only did Mei not know where her best friend was, but he hadn't called yet. During the past week, she had been trying to take her mind off of her friend's new situation by partying, going to the arcade and playing different games, or just riding on her bike through the city, but now her worries came flooding back because it was the end of the week, and her best friend had yet to make the call like he'd promised. 

If there were absolutely anything that she knew about MK, it was that he wouldn't _dare_ break a promise, if he could help it. Something was wrong.

Horribly wrong.

That's how she found herself on her bike, wearing her motorcycle suit, driving to Pigsy's Noodles, hoping that MK was there, working. She wouldn't even be angry at this point, and would just hug him out of pure relief that he was okay. Maybe she'd guilt trip him into giving her a free bowl of lo mein, but other than that, she probably wouldn't be angry with him until much later.

When she finally arrived, she parked her motorcycle in front of the restaurant, hurriedly climbing off of it, her suit dematerializing, replaced with her usual teal jacket and white clothes. She burst through the door to the restaurant, the bell attached to it ringing loudly, her chest heaving with heavy breaths. "MK?!"

Several pairs of eyes looked at her, startled. Mei's cheeks burned with embarrassment when she realized that she had disturbed people eating their lunches. Muttering a quick 'sorry,' she ran across the restaurant, heading towards the bar. "Pigsy?"

She heard cluttering in the kitchen, before the humanoid pig demon finally walked through the entrance leading to the kitchen, face dotted in sweat and wiping it away as he pressed the brown towel wrapped around his neck against his face. He looked more exhausted than Mei ever remembered seeing him, his forehead practically covered in lines from stress, with bags under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in days, most likely because of him having to run his noodle shop by himself during the past few days.

His eyes fell on Mei, then his face lit up.

"Mei," Pigsy breathed, practically running over to the bar, pressing his palms against its flat surface, his eyes desperate, almost pleading. "Have you seen MK? H- he was supposed to be back today."

Mei's heart plummeted to her stomach, all hopes that Pigsy knew where MK was or if he was okay being dashed to ribbons. She slumped onto one of the barstools, shaking her head, trying not to scream with frustration.

Pigsy made an odd noise at the back of his throat, which- to Mei, at least- sounded an awful lot like a suppressed whimper. "You...you don't know where he is?"

"No, I don't," she said, quietly. "I...I was hoping _you_ might have known where he'd gone, or he had made it to work and just forgot to tell me."

"Tā mā de," Pigsy blurted out, running his hand over his face. Mei looked at him, surprised. It wasn't very often that Pigsy swore, especially in Chinese, despite his gruff nature. He'd claimed that it was unprofessional and would surely damper the reputation of his business. People were now staring, but Mei was sure that was the last thing on the noodle chef's mind right now.

Pigsy let his hand side down his face, eventually letting it dangle by his side. He ignored the looks his customers were giving him, instead focusing on his delivery boy's best friend, and spoke in a low voice, so that the people in the restaurant wouldn't hear. "Mei, we have to call the police."

Mei shook her head, brows furrowing. "This could be _mystical monkey business,_ Pigsy," she pointed out, making sure to keep her voice in a whisper. "If a demon's involved, the police have _no_ chance to deal with them because they're still trying to digest this whole 'demons aren't a myth after all' thing."

"Well, what else are we supposed to-"

The door suddenly opened again, followed by the bell ringing. Eyes widening, Pigsy and Mei snapped their heads up, only to see two familiar faces: a young man in his late twenties, with red and white Changshan robes and a red khata fit for a monk, with black hair and golden glasses on his face, which were now askew on his face. Next to him was a shirtless man who wasn't quite human, bigger than probably everyone in the room, with blue skin, an orange beard and a mohawk, arms coiled with muscles, and a magenta pearl necklace wrapped around his neck, causing almost every female in the room to swoon at him, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Tang? Sandy?" Pigsy asked, seeing the two put their hands over their knees, panting heavily, as if they just returned from a running marathon. Mei gave Pigsy a confused look, and the pig quickly explained. "They were out looking for MK." He turned his attention back to the other two. "Well? Did you find anything?"

Sandy opened his mouth to speak, but he was panting far too hard to properly form words. Tang was the one who spoke, although just barely.

"Mon- Mon-" he wheezed, forcing himself to speak, his chest heaving with heavy panting still. "Mon- Monkey King- h-hospital!"

Mei's eyes widened, and Pigsy raised his eyebrows, the two sharing a confused look. Monkey King and "hospital" didn't go together. They _shouldn't._

Mei took her phone out of her pocket, and quickly typed in "Monkey King" on the search engine, and her heart skipped a beat when "monkey king hospitalized" showed up. She swallowed. "Pigsy, he...he's right."

 _"What?"_ Pigsy gasped, his eyes widening.

Mei clicked on one of the first articles on the subject, and her stomach plummeted when she saw that the article had been updated only an hour ago. "Guys...we have to go. _Now!_ "

"To the truck!" Pigsy shouted, already running out the door, and the others followed, none caring about the confused customers left behind.

* * *

He lost track on how many times he'd counted the tiles on the floor, maybe after the fourth or fifth time. He heard the clock ticking away, the ticking being the only sound, aside from phones ringing and the receptionist typing on her computer, for a little while. News reporters were slowly crowding the hospital entrance, but he drowned out the noise. The police would probably be here soon, not that it'd matter. He probably wouldn't talk to them anyway.

The doctors had given him new clothes, a black t-shirt and jeans. Black, like death. Perhaps it was some kind of twisted symbol, or a warning, of what was to come. A warning that darkness was coming, threatening to swallow his heart and mind whole. He tried to comfort himself, tried to remind himself that Monkey King would be okay. He was immortal, after all. He'd live.

 _But he'd suffer for months,_ a voice whispered in his mind. _Macaque managed to shatter his invulnerability. This may hold consequences for him._

What those consequences would be, MK wasn't sure. And he honestly didn't want to think about it.

Shouting. He snapped his head up, startled, to see four familiar faces pushing through the crowd of reporters. His heart seemed to suddenly turn a thousand pounds lighter when Pigsy and Mei threw the doors open, followed by Tang and Sandy. Before he could even react, Mei's arms were wrapped around him, squeezing him into one of her death grip hugs.

"Oh, gods, MK, I am so sorry," she whispered, and, maybe it was because he was still processing everything that happened or because he'd been trying not to break into tears again to make another scene for the past three hours, but the tears resurfaced, and he buried his face into her shoulder, choking out sobs once again.

He felt other arms wrapping around them, and he knew who those arms belonged to. But he just kept crying, allowing his friends to comfort him even though he didn't feel like he deserved it. 

MK didn't know how long it'd been since he started crying, but eventually he'd been led to the seats. He didn't remember when, or who took him. Mei, he guessed, as she was the one squeezing his hand. 

Pigsy, apparently, had gone somewhere and got a box of tissues, and Tang was taking them, folding them neatly before gently dabbing at the distraught Monkie Kid's cheeks. Sandy sat next to him on his right, his enormous hand gently set on MK's shoulder. MK realized that Sandy hadn't brought Mo with him.

Which was unfortunate, because MK felt like he needed the presence of a therapy cat right now.

"MK…" called Tang, gently, bringing the teenager out of his thoughts. The man's heart clenched when he saw the despair in MK's eyes. MK being so distraught would sadden even those who'd only spoken a few words with him. MK being hurt was like everything good and innocent being mangled in the worst ways. It was cruel, unjust, but most importantly of all; it was a crime that shouldn't have happened in the first place. "Wh...what happened? To...to the Monkey King?"

MK's chest tightened, and he squeezed his eyes shut, murky images of what happened burning into the back of his eyelids, although everything felt fuzzy, disorienting. Maybe it was because his brain was still trying to process what happened or he was still shocked, but it didn't matter. He had to tell them.

"I…" His voice was quiet, raspy, and the others had to lean in just a bit closer so they'd all be able to hear what he was saying. "...I messed up. So bad. Th...the guy we saw battling the monster...it was a guy called the Six Eared Macaque."

" _The Six Eared Macaque?!_ " Tang suddenly shouted, startling the rest of them, even the receptionist at her desk. The man's face flushed when Pigsy sent him a glare, and he cleared his throat, readjusting his glasses before he spoke again. "I'm sorry. But, the Six Eared Macaque is one of the many foes Sun Wukong had faced in the Journey to the West."

"He is?" MK asked, eyes widening. Why didn't he recognize that name?

Tang nodded, looking almost just as confused as MK felt. "Yes, he is. He had impersonated the Monkey King, to the point where that no one could tell them apart, and the Buddha had to step in to tell who's who. In the end, Macaque had tried to flee when he'd been caught, but Wukong had killed him before he had the chance...or so that's what's been told. Apologies if this may sound rude, but I thought you'd know this? You told me that you read all of the Monkey King stories."

MK racked his brain for a memory of reading the story with Macaque, and, eventually, like a light flickering on by a switch, he remembered.

The Monkie Kid groaned, grabbing at his hair like a madman, surprising the others, who gave him concerned looks again. "I _did_ read it...but I got so impatient that I skipped the pages all the way to their fight!" Tears swelled in his eyes, and he let out another broken, heartbreaking sob as he began pulling at his hair. 

It really _was_ his fault. If he had just been patient, like Monkey King had said, maybe he would have never fallen for Macaque's trick. If he had just taken another look at Journey to the West, maybe he would have realized that the cursed six eared demon was just using him, and Monkey King, his hero, his mentor, his _friend_ , wouldn't be here in the hospital, potentially battling for his life. Why had he been so _stupid_?

The others looked ready to console him, but the five of them snapped their heads up when they heard footsteps, and saw a doctor approaching them, looking solemn. MK's breath hitched.

"Are any of you friends with the Monkey King?" the doctor asked, his dark eyes seeming to look back and forth between the five of them, almost reminding them of a robot scanning them for some sci-fi reason or another.

MK nodded, then stood up, trying to ignore how his legs trembled underneath him. "I...I'm his student. The Monkie Kid."

The doctor, for a brief second, looked shocked, but he quickly schooled his expression with a more professional one. "What's your name, sir?"

"M...Mack Kalani Chang. But, I g-go by MK."

"Well, MK...I'm afraid that Sun Wukong's condition is quite serious." 

MK suddenly felt like his legs suddenly turned into jelly, but he tried to remain strong. He had to know his ~~father's~~ _mentor's_ condition. "H...how serious?"

The doctor sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Almost every bone in his body is broken. His vital organs are healing fast, but his bones are going to take a lot more time. As we're not necessarily knowledgeable in the field of heavenly magic, we're not sure when he'll be completely healed. And...his brain has suffered some serious trauma as well. His skull has been fractured, and, had he been human, he most certainly would have been dead on arrival. If he wakes up by next year, it'd be a miracle."

MK's knees wobbled, on the verge of giving out from beneath him. His vision spun on its axis, and he felt an odd sensation, like he was on the verge of falling to the floor, but, somehow, he managed to keep standing.

"C-can I see him?" He didn't care that his voice cracked. "Please?"

The doctor looked at him sympathetically, and, after a few seconds, he sighed, and nodded. "Of course, but only one visitor at a time."

Mei and Pigsy looked like they wanted to protest, but seeing the pleading look on MK's face, they clamped their mouths shut. Tang and Sandy nodded for the Monkie Kid to go on, and MK slowly followed the doctor to his mentor's room.

"I...I just don't get it." said Sandy, finally speaking up for the first time today. The others startled, most likely having forgotten he was there. "How was Macaque able to hurt the Monkey King like this?"

Mei thought for a while, and nodded, looking confused. "Yeah. How _was_ he able to hurt Wukong like that?"

Tang thought for a while. "You know...I always had a theory about this."

"Yeah?" Pigsy asked, looking at him. "What is it?"

"As a lot of us know, Wukong has about three weaknesses: the True Fire of Samadhi, being blinded, and his inability to fight underwater. But...who said that his _own_ powers couldn't hurt him?"

Mei's eyes widened. "So...so you're saying that…"

"Macaque used the Monkey King's own powers against him?" Sandy gasped, his eyes widening as well.

Tang nodded. "Yes...and no. It seems that Macaque has grown as strong as Sun Wukong, and he definitely has the ability to hurt him, but gaining the Monkey King's power would definitely boost that ability by tenfold."

"Tang…" said Pigsy slowly, eyes widening. "Are you saying…?"

"While MK hasn't confirmed it yet...I believe that Macaque used him and stole his power to hurt the Monkey King...to keep them both out of the way."

Silence reigned, but the horrifying realization still hit them like a punch to the gut.

"A demon with Sun Wukong's powers…" Mei whispered.

"And he's still out there," Sandy breathed.

"Ready to take on the world," Tang finished, the glare on the light from the lights above masking the look on his face.


End file.
